University of Maryland Toggle Talk Project ToggleTalk® is an evidence-based, language arts curriculum supplement created specifically for kindergarten and first grade teachers. ToggleTalk teaches children who speak a non-mainstream dialect at home how to make situationally appropriate language choices. ToggleTalk lessons provide young children with vocabulary and language awareness skills to become comfortable in switching between their home (informal/non-academic) language and classroom (formal/academic) language.
ToggleTalk® Components
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) ELA Grades K-2
BCPSS ELA Curriculum Great Minds: Wit and Wisdom
MD College and Career-Ready Curriculum Framework ELA Grades K-2
Dialect Recognition
Children learn to recognize Home (Informal) and School (Formal) language
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
“Explicit … grammar instruction, including a focus on morphology, syntax, and word function in context.”
L1.b Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
Children learn how to match the two dialects to a situational context
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.F Read words with inflectional endings.
“Includes multiple authentic opportunities to use academic language with support, such as explicit teaching about speaking and listening, sentence frames, and vocabulary support with an emphasis on differentiation.” (Great Minds: Wit and Wisdom Implementation Guide pp. 26-28)
L1.b Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
Dialect Production
Children learn to use distinct grammatical features that neutrally contrast Home (Informal) and School (Formal) language Children learn to translate Home language into School language based on the situational context
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.3a Compare formal and informal uses of English. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.L.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Like Wit and Wisdom, ToggleTalk is aligned with the CCSS and has a strong focus on language. ToggleTalk supplements Wit and Wisdom by providing strategic support for code switching for linguistically diverse learners.
L1.c Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes). L1.f Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
The BCPSS is partnering with the University of Maryland on a randomized control trial of Toggle Talk. Please contact Dr. Jan Edwards and Ms. Tatiana Thonesavanh at toggletalk@umd.edu for more information. This project is funded by a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences to the University of Maryland. ToggleTalk® is published by Ventris Learning, LLC. The researchers at UMD have no financial interest in ToggleTalk® or Ventris Learning.